Your
rundown today on the likely successors to Warren Christopher in a second
Clinton administration was expertly done. Your assessments are so razor sharp
that I can't find a word out of place. The list is not alphabetical, so I
assume the list is in order of your personal preference: Anthony Lake, the
national security advisor; Richard Holbrooke, the former Bosnia negotiator;
Senator Sam Nunn; Madeleine Albright, the UN ambassador; Thomas Picketing, the
U.S.Ambassador to Russia; Former Senator George Mitchell; Senator Richard
Lugar. Actually, your comment on Pickering's weakness seems to apply to the
entire roster: "Unclear whether he has a global vision that could guide a
second-term Clinton Administration."

The two names I would suggest that
are not on your list would be Colin Powell and former Oklahoma Senator David
Boren. The next secretary of state should be able to transfer the power of the
National Security Council back to Foggy Bottom, which is where it belongs in
peacetime. The NSC was established as a council of war, and the war is over.
State needs a very strong leader who will be able to outmaneuver the
Military-Industrial Complex, as it feeds through the NSC and the Pentagon. The
only real allies the diplomats have these days are people like you, in the
press corps, and those like Henry Kissinger who continue to stress diplomacy
over fear and force.

Powell had turned down the job with the Clinton
administration, but he would surely consider it again if Clinton were
re-elected. Powell would be a much better SecState in a Dole/Kemp
administration, though, because I presume Clinton will remain burdened with
Bob Rubin (and Larry Summers) at Treasury. Keynesian economics will continue
to plague the planet via the IMF and World Bank, unless there are changes made
there. David Boren would at least be able to bring some understanding of
foreign economic policy to State. Boren, like Bradley, has bailed out of
elective politics because he sees the void in the Senate. Unlike Bradley,
Boren is growth oriented in his economics.

The ideal combination in a
Dole/Kemp administration would be Ted Forstmann at Treasury and Colin Powell
at State, with Don Rumsfeld the White House chief of staff, and Sam Nunn the
Secretary of Defense. I note that Steven Rosenfeld of The Washington
Post thinks Powell is too much of a dove for conservative Republicans,
but that is only when it comes to the Oval Office. Conservatives accept the
idea that Powell's dovishness would be appropriate at
State.